TikTok star Femke Gort hopes to become a GC rider one day: "Annemiek van Vleuten is my big idol"

Femke Gort is only nineteen years old, but about one and a half weeks ago, she was proudly listed amongst strong contenders like Demi Vollering and Lorena Wiebes in the starting list for the Women's Elite World Gravel Championship. IDLProCycling.com caught up with her just before the start and discussed various topics with this talented cyclist.

A headline from De Limburger a few weeks before the Veneto-hosted World Championship read: "Femke Gort (19) is making waves as a cyclist but is already a hit on TikTok with tens of thousands of followers and millions of likes."

"It was a fantastic year. I also learned a lot. This was essentially my first real road season. Transitioning from cyclocross directly to the Brabantse Pijl is quite tough. It's genuinely next-level. You obviously feel the vast difference," Gort admits.

"I'd love to develop myself as a climber. Riding classifications appeals to me immensely. However, I must admit that I've never tried time trialing," she says with a laugh. "This also means I don't know if I'm good or bad at it. But I definitely want to explore it. Pushing myself to the limit on long climbs is what attracts me the most. It's really my thing. Annemiek van Vleuten is my big idol and role model. I'd love to become the same type of cyclist like her."